EARTH ~

RONALD JOHNSON



from The Shrubberies





slant

rain

drops

from

each

prickle

of holly











a homing of hummingbirds

to a singular blossom











cornucopia convolvulus

kudos in stratosphere

over the arched bridge

so easily over an edge












ignation gentian

smouldering purples

pleader at gate











tempi all exempt

except tempest











a place not on any map

snapping & crackling

between antipodes











Nature, a stickler for detail



each niche filled sheer overkill



a kind of anti-antimacassar

to draw out cellular matter











afar, the lilac

reach to the stars

in silence absolute

staircase of cataract

and galaxies mute











sun in the honeyhives

combing order from time,



light on light suffuse

like liquid copper



climbing in the dark

ore heights Byzantine











From here, across the Mts.

everything is quite different

customs, architecture, smell

but same appetite for Hell











of crayon canyon

cut by juniper smokes

turquoise sky above

leaping the bounds











quick — a startled faun

unstill as a flame






RONALD JOHNSON
THE SHRUBBERIES
EDITED BY PETER O'LEARY
FLOOD EDITIONS 2001

A most beautiful piece by Jonathan Williams on Ronald Johnson from the Jargon site:

http://www.jargonbooks.com/rjobit.html

photo : webdelsol.com
book : flood editions